How to Use Glaze

Learn how to use glaze from decorative artist Aliya Riaz in this Howcast painting tutorial.

Transcript

In this segment of Decorative Painting Techniques, we're looking at, once we've colored our glaze, what we can actually do with it. That is where a lot of the glazing techniques come in, techniques like sponging, ragging, color-washing and striae. All of these techniques are basically using a film of glaze on top of a surface then manipulating it with a tool, whether it's a brush, or a rag, or a sponge. So, what you're doing is you're apply your glaze to your surface, whether it is your walls or your ceiling. And then, working in a limited amount of time, before the glaze dries, to make an imprint of your work in the glaze. We would use glazes in situations where we want to bring a lot of warmth or depth to walls, or any surface. It could even be furniture, for example. If you put an antiquing glaze on a cream background, you can make a piece of furniture look as if it is hundreds of years old - as opposed to looking like you bought it yesterday. Ultimately, glazes are used quite unexpectedly on a lot of things that you may have lying around in your home or your office. You could find glaze on mirror frames, such as on cabinetry, a lot of kitchen cabinets have glaze on them. Glaze is much tougher than paint, so it becomes a much more durable surface once glazed. One of the things you should not be confused with is the glaze used on pottery, glazes that are actually applied to pottery and fired in a kiln. However, it is the same essential outer coating that is the tough durable part of pottery.